Starz Boards BBC Limited Drama Series ‘The Missing’

Starz has partnered with the BBC on the British broadcaster’s eight-episode limited drama series The Missing. Starz will co-produce the project, starring James Nesbitt (The Hobbit trilogy), which has begun filming in Brussels. Written by Harry and Jack Williams and directed by Tom Shankland, the thriller will air on BBC One in the UK and Starz in the U.S. in fall 2014. It is produced by New Pictures and Company Pictures in association with Two Brothers Pictures and Colin Callender’s Playground. All3media International has funded development of The Missing and retains all U.S. rights not obtained by Starz. Missing reunites the auspices behindThe White Queen limited series, which was a success for Starz; it also hailed from BBC One, Company Pictures, Playground and all3media.The Missing follows Tony (Nesbitt) as a man devastated by the abduction of his young son during a family vacation in France. He becomes a man obsessed, unable to accept that his child may be dead and spends years searching for him. Tony’s exhaustive search fractures his marriage to Emily (Frances O’Connor) and threatens to destroy his life. Tcheky Karyo plays Julien, the French police detective who launched the initial search for the child. The thriller spans multiple time frames and is set in France and London.